The father-son final of the 61st ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Public Courts tournament came down to the wire.
Connor and Jason Waybright, of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, dropped the first set but stormed back to win the second set and tiebreaker and took away their first Public Courts title by a score of 3-6, 6-3, (11-9) on Friday at Schoenbaum Tennis Courts.
They defeated Jason and Rick Prince of Proctorville, Ohio.
The sons in the match have strong tennis backgrounds. Connor Waybright is an upcoming sophomore at ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Catholic High School and plays on the tennis team, while Jason Prince played at the University of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä for four years, graduating in 2020.
Jason Waybright said the Princes provided strong competition.
“They’re a great team,†he said. “We watched Jason [Prince] grow up all the way through college. He’s been one of Connor’s mentors and certainly someone he’s looked up to. It was great to be on the court with him and his dad. Super friendly match. It wasn’t easy but we were able to win.â€
Connor Waybright talked about how he and his dad came back to win the tiebreaker after dropping the first set.
“Mostly just keeping the ball deep because Jason’s volleys are always on point,†he said. “He can rip every single ball past us. We tried to keep it deep. It’s tough but we pulled it out.â€
Jason Waybright said it was all about staying positive after losing the first set.
“It’s about not getting down after losing the first set,†he said. “It’s a reset. If we can win the second one we got a chance at it and that’s what happens.â€
The Princes said they had fun in their first-ever father-son event.
“We had a lot of fun,†Jason Prince said. “We’ve known there’s always been the father-son event here but we never played it before so we were excited to get out there and mix it up together after all these years and played some great teams and had a good time doing it.
“It was a great time, just being able to play with Jason,†Rick Prince said. “He tried to carry me and I was a little bit heavy but it was a great time. It was amazing watching [Jason Prince] make some of the shots he made. The other team was great too. It was a great evening.â€
The Waybrights came at the Princes with a lefty-righty combination – Jason is lefthanded, Connor is a righthanded – that Jason Prince said was tough to handle.
“It was tricky,†Jason Prince said. “They’ve got the lefty-righty combo going on and I think they just had good chemistry together and ended up coming up with a couple of nice shots there in the super tiebreak to win it.â€
Like the Princes, this was the Waybrights’ first father-son event.
“Special moment,†Jason Waybright said. “It’s the first time he and I have played together competitively. We hit a couple times per week but this the first time competitively.â€
Connor Waybright said playing in Public Courts beating older competition is good experience as he heads into his second year of high school.
“It just builds confidence and motivation going right into the season next spring,†he said. “I’ve always looked up to [Jason Prince]. He played in high school. It brings me motivation through high school knowing that I can win matches.â€
